Pneumatic straw stacker and elevator.



A. ROSENTHAL. PNEUMATIC STRAW STAGKER AND ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1B, 1908.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

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ANDREW l GRAHAM cm Pnmufnocmvusns. WASHINGTON. n

A. ROSENTHAL. PNEUMATIC STRAW STAGKER AND ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1908.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

AUGUST ROSENTHAL, OF WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN.

PNEUMATIC STBAW STACKER AND ELEVATOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUeUsT ROSENTIIAL, residing in Vest Allis, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Straw Stackers and Elevators, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to improvements in pneumatic straw stackers and elevators adapted for use with corn-husking and shredding machines, threshing machines and ensilage cutters.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a straw stacker in which pneu matic means are adapted to move the material part way through the discharge spout and a reciprocating means for positively moving the material through the balance of the spout and discharge it from the end thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a straw stacker in which the pneumatic means may be used alone for elevating and discharging the shredded fodder or straw when it is desired to blow the material from the end of the spout, or if desired the reciprocating means may also be used alone in elevating and discharging some kinds of material. And a still further object of the invention is to provide a straw stacker which may be swung to any angle desired without aifecting the operation of the reciprocating means.

With the above, and other objects, in View, the invention consists of the devices and parts, or their equivalents, as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference characters'designate the same parts in all of the views: Figure 1 is a side view of the pneumatic straw stacker and elevator embodying my improvements, shown in connection with a fragment of a corn husking machine; Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1 looking toward the right, parts of the frame being in section; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a fragment of the discharge spout and connected parts, a part of the spout being in section to show interior details of construction; Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of the spout tube and the reciprocating bars; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of fragments of the two recip- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 18, 1908.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910. Serial No. 433,335.

rocating bars, one of the bars being shown as traveling forwardly and the other bar rearwardly, as indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 6 indicates a fragment of the frame of a corn husking machine, and 7 a fan casing and fan adjacent thereto. The fan and its casing are of ordinary construction, the casing being provided with an inlet opening in its side and with a tubular vertical discharge pipe 8 connected to its periphery and is adapted to receive material from the husker through its side opening and to discharge the same through the vertical discharge pipe. The top of the discharge pipe 8 is provided with a swivel joint 9 and to the upper member of this swivel is connected a flexible elbow 10. A straight section of tubing 11 is connected to the upper end of the fieXible elbow and its outer end may be provided with a curved discharge pipe 12 if desired, or the material may be discharged directly from the end of the straight section of tubing.

A pair of reciprocating bars 13 located within the straight section of tubing and movable independently with relation to said tubing are positioned at diametrically opposite sides thereof and are provided with swinging fingers 14 pivotally connected thereto. These fingers consist of pieces of round wrought iron inserted through openings provided therefor in the bars and are bent at right angles in the form of the letter U with the two stems 15 resting against the top and bottom sides respectively of the bars, and the base 16 of the U forming the pivotal connection with said bars. Stop pins 17 connected to the bars are positioned in the path of movement of the fingers to limit their swing so that in the forward reciprocation of the bars the fingers are permitted to swing to a position almost at right angles with the bars and will engage the material and carry it forwardly and upwardly in the tube, and

during the rearward reciprocation of the bars the fingers are permitted to swing to a position substantially parallel with the bars and consequently will not obstruct. or retard thg forward progress of the material in the tu e.

The reciprocatingbars are provided with guide pins 18 and 18 which project through guide slots 19 and 19 provided therefor in the straight section of tubing, each slot being substantially of the same length as the length of movement of the reciprocating bars, and the bars are of sutlicient length to completely cover the slots and prevent any material being discharged therefrom. The guide pins 18 are pivotally connected to bars 20, the other ends of which are connected to a double crank 21 mounted in a frame 22 bolted to the straight section of tubing. A grooved pulley 23 mounted on the shaft of the double crank is provided with a belt 24: which extends from said pulley to a small pulley 25 mounted on a shaft 26 which has its bearings in a swinging frame 27. The swing ing frame 27 is pivotally connected to a part of the husking or other machine to which is may be connected. This frame serves as a yielding belt tightener and is held in an upright position by means of a coiled spring 28 pivotally connected thereto and to a part of the main frame. A large belt wheel 29 mounted 011 the end of the shaft 26 is provided with a belt 30 which ex tends downwardly from said belt wheel to and surrounds a small pulley 31 mounted on a shaft 32 having its bearings in the main frame. This shaft is rotated by means of a belt and pulley connected to a suitable source of power (not shown) or other means. A lever 33 rigidly connected to the straight sect-ion of tubing extends rearwardly therefrom to a position above the flexible elbow and the fan. This lever is pivotally supported between the upper ends of two sup porting members 34k which are pivotally bolted to the sides of the swivel 9. A threaded adjusting rod 85 is also pivotally connected to the swivel 9 and extends upwardly at an angle and passes through an opening in the end of the lever and is provided with a cranked nut 36 which is adapted to raise or lower the outer end of the stacker by turning the nut up or down on the threaded rod and changing the angle of the flexible elbow.

Four idle spools or rollers 37 are mounted on the upper ends of the supporting members in pairs, and between which spools the belt 2st is guided. These spools are positioned approximately above the center of the swivel so that when the spout of the stacker is swung around on the swivel the belt will be held in proper alinement with its respective pulleys, the swinging frame permitting a sufiicient give to compensate for the changed distance apart of the pulleys due to their angle with relation to each other.

The operation of the stacker is as follows: Straw or shredded fodder is fed to the fan through its side opening and it is blown upwardly through the elbow and into the straight section of tubing by the air blast. At this point the straw or fodder is engaged by the fingers of the reciprocating bars which quickly work it up to the end of the spout and discharge it therefrom. The bars are reciprocated back and forth by means of the double crank and the connecting bars. The pivoted fingers on the bars are adapted to engage the straw and move it forward at each upward reciprocation, and during the return stroke the fingers swing against the bars and pass down freely through the upwardly moving material and at the end of the stroke the fingers are again swung outwardly by engagement with the material and the same operation continues as before described. The double crank is revolved by means of the pulleys and belts in any position of adjustment to which the stacker may be swung due to the novel arrangement of the swinging frame and the spools posi t-ioned above the center of the swivel.

It may be desirable in handling some kinds of light material to omit the use of the reciprocating bars and in which case the power means to said bars is disconnected and only the air blast from the fan is used. The bars occupying but a small amount of space within the tube will not obstruct the passage of material through the tube. It may also be desirable in some cases to omit the use of the fan and use the reciprocating bars alone, in which case the material is fed to a position within the tube where it may be engaged by the finger of the bars and the operation as before described takes place.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

l. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a tube connected to the casing, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and move material within the tube, and means for reciprocating the bars.

2. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a tube swiveled to the casing, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and move material within the tube, stops for limiting the movement of the fingers, and means for reciprocating the bars.

8. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a tube swiveled to the casing, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and move material within the tube, stops for limiting the movement of the fingers, guide pins connected to said bars and extending through slots provided therefor in the tube, connecting bars connected to said pins, and means for reciprocating the bars in alternately op posite directions.

4. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a tube swiveled to the casing, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and cranked means for reciprocating the bars in alternately opposite directions, a pulley connected to the cranked means, a swinging frame provided with a pulley, a belt connected to both pulleys, and means for rotating the pulley mounted on the swinging frame.

5. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a tube swiveled to the casing, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and move material within the tube, guide pins connected to said bars and extending through slots provided therefor in the tube, connecting bars connected to said pins, cranked means for reciprocating the bars in alternately opposite directions, a pulley connected to the cranked means, a swinging frame provided with a pulley, spools mounted approximately above the center of the swivel, a belt connected to both pulleys and extending between the spools, and means for rotating the pulleys mounted on the swinging frame.

6. A stacker and elevator, comprising a fan and its casing, a flexible elbow swiveled to the fan casing, a straight section of tube connected to the elbow, means for changing the angle of the elbow to raise or lower the discharge end of the stacker, reciprocating bars positioned within the tube, fingers pivotally connected to said bars and constructed to engage and move material within the tube, guide pins connected to said bars and extending through slots provided therefor in the tube, connecting bars connected to said pins, cranked means for reciprocating the bars in alternately opposite directions, a pulley connected to the cranked means, a swinging frame provided with a pulley, spools mountedabove and in approximately axial alinement with the swivel, a belt connected to both pulleys and extending between the spools, a yielding means connected to the swinging frame, and means for rotating the pulley mounted on the swingin frame.

A stacker and elevator, comprising a tube, pneumatic means for elevating material part way in said tube, and reciprocating means independent of said tube for moving the material the balance of the way in said tube.

8. A stacker and elevator, comprising a tube provided with both pneumatic and reciprocating means for jointly elevating and discharging material, the reciprocating means being independent of said tube.

9. A stacker and elevator comprising a swiveled tube provided with both pneumatic and reciprocating means for jointly elevating and discharging material, and means positioned in approximately axial alinement with the swivel whereby power means is directed to the reciprocating means in all positions of adjustment.

10. A stacker and elevator, comprising a tube, a reciprocating bar associated with said tube and provided with material engaging fingers', a crank for reciprocating said bar, a belt and pulleys for rotating said crank, a pivotal support for said tube, spools mounted above and in approximately axial alinement with the pivot of said support and between which the belt is guided, and a yielding frame to which one of the pulleys is connected.

11. A stacker and elevator, comprising a tube, reciprocating bars positioned within said tube and provided with material engaging fingers, a double crank for reciprocating said bars, a belt and pulleys for rotating said double crank, a pivotal support for said tube, spools mounted above and in approximately axial alinement with the pivot of said support and between which the belt is guided, a swinging frame to which one of the pulleys is connected, and a yielding means connected to said frame.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST ROSENTHAL.

Witnesses:

C. H. KEENEY, ANNA F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

